PROVIDENCE — Hundreds of supporters of Ready to Learn Providence demonstrated on Saturday to save the agency's bilingual training programs for early-childhood educators and childcare providers from being threatened by a suspected case of embezzlement at its parent organization.

The supporters rallied at the nonprofit agency's headquarters on Westminster Street before marching to the State House carrying signs and chanting, "Ready to Learn."

"I will cry if they close this place," said Nuris Ynoa, who helped organize the demonstration. "We come here to get training and it's in Spanish. It's our second home."

Ynoa, a self-employed childcare provider, has both received training and given instruction at the headquarters near Classical High School. But she and other beneficiaries of the program remain in limbo after the U.S. Department of Education froze $600,000 in funding for Ready to Learn amid an embezzlement investigation at The Providence Plan, which oversees the Ready to Learn program.

The Providence Plan fired its finance director, Charles Denno, on July 27 amid allegations that he embezzled money in connection with gambling losses. The state police have been investigating the case, but Denno has not been charged.

The embezzlement and police investigation were little mentioned on Saturday. Instead, supporters focused on how the resulting freeze in funds is harming beneficial programs. Not only have the funds from the federal agency been frozen, the move has created a "domino effect" of other funders being unable to put up matching funds, said program director Leslie Gell.

"Through no fault of Ready to Learn Providence, we find ourselves in a situation where some of our funders have halted the funding and as a result, we are unable to continue many of the services we have been offering for the past 14 years," said Gell.

Credit for the rally, however, goes to Ynoa and other program participants who wanted to do something to save the program, Gell said.

"Today's rally is a great support that we are sharing with the family childcare providers that decided to really coordinate and plan the rally," said Tania Quezada, director of family and community partnership. "Ready to Learn Providence does not have any future to offer professional development training to the family childcare providers and center early care providers, and it's crucial to the future of our kids that we continue this funding."